Lansdowne is located next to the Massachusetts Turnpike in the Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood near Kenmore Square, below grade between Beacon Street and Brookline Avenue.

Regular commuter service began in 2001 for riders headed to Boston University, Kenmore Square, and the Longwood Medical and Academic Area.

In 2012, work began on a new, fully accessible station, including two longer high-level platforms and an overhead pedestrian bridge.

The new station is served by all Worcester Line trains, which was expected to increase ridership from 585 total daily boardings and alightings to 937.

The Fenway Center pedestrian deck covers the west portion of the platforms, connecting Beacon Street and the station footbridge.

Kenmore station, located 0.25 miles (0.40 km) to the northeast along Brookline Avenue, provides connections to the B, C, and D branches of the MBTA Green Line, as well as bus route 57.

[1]: 340 [9] Originally named in honor of long-time Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey, the station was opened on April 29, 1988, and initially was only used for special service to Fenway Park for baseball games.

This largely obviated the need for "Fenway Flyer" specials, though certain weekend Providence trains ran to Yawkey as late as 2007.

[25] With the pending passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the MBTA began a project to build a mini-high platform on March 14, 1990.

In early 2000, the MBTA released a study which analyzed the possibility of full-time commuter service to then-Yawkey station to serve workers at nearby Boston University, Kenmore Square, and the Longwood Medical and Academic Area.

An addendum released in August 2000 analyzed increased service (on all modes) to Fenway Park on game days.

[29] On November 15, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick and other officials broke ground on a major rebuilding of the station, originally expected to be completed in the spring of 2012.

[7] As part of the development, walkways would be built above the station, allowing passengers to walk directly to the pedestrian bridge and platforms from Beacon Street and Brookline Avenue rather than passing through private parking lots.

[35][36][37] The walkway between the new station and Fenway Park includes large lit statues of the uniform numbers retired by the Red Sox.

[40] The first phase of the project added a pedestrian deck over the west part of the platforms, connecting to Beacon Street and the station footbridge.

[43] Lansdowne is a proposed intermediate station for East-West Rail, which would provide intercity passenger service between Boston and Pittsfield.

[50] In August 2017, amid heightened media coverage of the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials in the United States, the Red Sox organization began advocating for the city to change the street's name.